Vegetarian Tuscan White Bean Soup

A couple of weeks ago we talked about how to simplify real food with a capsule pantry. Here’s a quick recap…

A capsule pantry is much like a capsule wardrobe; a term that you are probably familiar with. The capsule concept was created by Susie Faux, a London Boutique owner in the ’70s. According to Faux, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items that work together and don’t go out of style (timeless).

A capsule pantry is an intentional way to simplify. A capsule pantry is made up of essential foods (ingredients). Foods that you love and use. Foods that can be used to create multiple meals. While most of us think of a pantry as just dry goods, this concept applies across the board to the fridge, freezer, and actual pantry (dry goods).

A capsule pantry simplifies not only your pantry space (goodbye ingredients that sit for years, just taking up space and not serving a purpose), but also simplifies planning and preparing meals. When you have a pantry that’s stocked with ingredients and foods you love and use, creating simple, nourishing meals is easy. A capsule pantry, to me, is essential for creating a simplified, ready-at-any-moment real food lifestyle.

The ingredients and foods stocked in your capsule pantry should be carefully curated by you, based on your family’s lifestyle. As an example, I shared a list of what’s stocked in my capsule pantry. You can download this list, here.

Cannellini beans are one of the ingredients on my list, along with carrots, onions, and broth/stock. With these ingredients, I can make a variety of meals including a variety of soups.

We have soup at least once a week, whether this is served as a make-ahead lunch meal (usually prepared on a Sunday evening), or a quick dinner (on the stove-top or in the Instant Pot).

Today’s recipe, Tuscan White Soup Bean, is an easy meal to add to your favorite’s list. A meal that is built on capsule pantry ingredients, making it affordable and easy to whip up even on the busiest of nights. 

This rustic soup makes just enough to feed my family of four, so if you’re wanting leftovers (or your family tends to enjoy multiple bowls of soups at a meal), you may want to double the recipe in a large pot. I love to serve this soup alongside grilled cheese, or make sheet-pan sourdough croutons to serve on top of the soup.

5 from 4 votes

Vegetarian Tuscan White Bean Soup

Tuscan White Soup Bean is an easy meal to add to your favorite's list. A meal that is built on capsule pantry ingredients, making it affordable and easy to whip up even on the busiest of nights. 

Kristin Marr

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 67 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 cup diced carrots about 2-3 carrots
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary stem and leaves separated, and leaves roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth/stock
• 2 15-ounce cans white beans cannellini or Great Northern, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 tsp salt to taste
• pinch black pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 cups kale de-stemmed and chopped*

Optional Garnishes:

• grated parmesan
• fresh thyme

Special Equipment:

• Dutch oven or large pot

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot (3 quart or larger), over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
• Stir in the carrots and garlic and sauté 4 minutes, or until the carrots begin to soften and the garlic is fragrant.
• Add the fresh rosemary leaves and stem, fresh thyme, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the broth, beans, salt and pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the carrots and beans have softened.
• Stir in the chopped kale (or greens of choice) and simmer for 5 minutes until the kale is wilted. Remove the thyme and rosemary stems, then adjust to taste (adding more salt or pepper, if needed).
• Serve warm with your desired garnishes.

Notes

*Alternatively, you can use baby spinach in this soup. I think chard would also be lovely, although chard tends to be bitter so you may want to decrease the amount used. 

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 3gSodium: 1830mgPotassium: 214mgSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4720IUVitamin C: 51mgCalcium: 67mgIron: 0.6mg

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!